The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-12-16
a Little sres Trade lsDsh,

.
Mr.. Mills, Of Texas, who Is 10 be ct the
head Of tho Mays and Means Committee,
maken haste to give the Presidents meg
sage and good Gecond. In the course Of
hia few feeble renarks, MIR. Mills talks tho
game kind OF freq trade hoah with which
readers OF Golden Club pamphlets and
other British literature Of the! school are
familiar.
Rsmarka Mr.. Mills: 1.-THE President
hen laid down in his measage tho true
prinCiplee-tax luzu.iea high, uecea,arisa
Of Lie low, Il taxed a. oil. People can do
without tobacco GAMER than thoy can do
without eh!rts and ehoes,"
MIR. Miila shares the delusion Of other
iree traders, that customs duty is necea-
ssrily aud alwsya tax on the consumer.
English manufacturers have learned that
this is not truo. They complain that they,
not tbs American conluners Of their pro.
ducta, psy tie exorbitant duty exscted at
the Customs Housea Of tho United Sta.cD.
An American twitted u manufacturer
OF wooden fabrics in Bradford, England, by
saying to him. 20, you hays no cccasion
to find fault with tho new french tariff.
Don't you remember that your econom-
ias have nhowu clearly to US Americans
that We ere being impoverished by the
tax va have to pay On your English
clotha?" The Eugliah manufacturer re-
plied thu: hs balisyoL that WAS true In
theory, bIt it wna tho practice that wor-
ried him. "a a matter Of fac. he had to
psy The French tariff or he could not got
into the French market, aud he never got
back what he paid.
Mr. Mills uhareg, slso, the Presidents
pasturbsl state OF mind over tho tariff on
"the receasaries Of life," and here ia where
the Democratic economists propose to be-
gin the benign work Of making the people
rich by li:st impc7srishing thcn-to ben.
eli! the consumer by taking from the
broad-winner his chance to win bis bread.
II all tho consumers could be ranged Oh
one side and all tho producers on the
other, after tho iaahion Of the sheep and
the goats, the one rank having no posi-
bic intoreet in the welfare OF the other,
then there might DO something in tho
talk OF chsape2iE2 tho necosaarcs Of life.
Bat aociety isso conuti!u!cd, with es much
inter-depeai0ncs, thst ss able an ccou-
onis! % tina President would struggle in
vain to mako any such diviuion that
would commend itself to the peopls who
earn and tho people who ccnuunc, who
happen fos tho mos. part to be tho came
people.
Possibly tobacco ia not one OF the prime
necessaries Of life, tu! thcre ars milliona
Of Americans who believe it to bs ns
necessary an ten or coffee, on which there
is neither internal tax nor import duty.
But Mr.. Mills need not offer TO the Amer
can wolkingmsn tho alternative OF doing
without tobacco Or doing without shirts
and shoea.
II ho will come to Wheeling 1t will give
I'd pleasure to show him number OF
ntorea in which he can buy an excellent
shirt Tor half & dollar and good stout
pair OF nhces for two dollars. Any man
who Is employed at lsboring wagen can
buy two good white ahirts with ono days
pay. Take away the laborer's wages, and
it would TO Of little interes. to him that the
sHmo shirts wero seiling at ten centa
apiece. That is the point.